Skip to footer

Individual purpose and world change

A Christian Science perspective: On finding and fulfilling our life purpose.

  • By Allison J. Rose-Sonnesyn

Many Millennials have a sincere desire to contribute fresh ideas to solve a variety of world problems, as is seen in this week’s cover story. According to the article, they also want to positively contribute to changing the status quo on a global level, and find a sense of personal balance and professional purpose – but paying off student loans, overcoming stereotypes, and finding right opportunities for their talents are proving challenging to overcome.

These are challenges I can relate to. I loved international relations, spent time overseas, and obtained a college degree in that field. I considered myself a global citizen, and wanted to help develop solutions to challenges in the world.

However, when I graduated from college, global dynamics had changed so that there were no longer substantial jobs for people with my background. I was grateful for the job I had, but it didn’t provide opportunities for professional growth. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school, but wasn’t sure what subject to focus on that would lead to a satisfying career that could enable me to pay off my student loans. I felt overwhelmed with decisions and afraid of making a mistake. So I prayed for guidance.

I was inspired by what Christ Jesus said about how our needs are met: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). This brought to mind a list of qualities belonging to the kingdom of heaven that Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, wrote: “unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 248).

As I thought deeply about these, I realized that my desire to help others and solve world problems needed to begin with a deeper understanding of God and my relationship to Him. I needed to see that God cares for His creation – including you and me – and that as His children, we are truly made to be fresh and complete, not limited by human qualifiers or requirements.

Gaining this broader sense of the kingdom of heaven gave me a better sense of who God is in relation to His creation, and it gave me a better sense of purpose. I understood that living unselfishly, expressing “goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love,” was my true life purpose. And living in this way provides us with practical opportunities to fulfill this purpose.

As I focused my prayer this way, the feelings of being overwhelmed were replaced by joy, confidence, and clarity in applying for graduate school. I later found fulfilling employment that allowed me to pay back my loans and, more important, seemed to make a positive difference in government.

This experience showed me that starting with the kingdom of heaven guides us, giving us ideas for each stage of our lives, enabling us to do good in the world.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Individual purpose and world change
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/A-Christian-Science-Perspective/2016/0705/Individual-purpose-and-world-change
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe